This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book

Working with Bins

Macintosh computers have always used folders to organize documents on the hard drive. Within Final Cut Express, the same approach
applies to organizing your project elements. The only difference is that the folder icons are referred to as bins, as described
earlier.

Creating and Naming Bins

The first step in organizing your project is to create new bins to store your source clips, audio, and sequences. Generally,
you organize a project by grouping similar elements together into specific bins. You will create three bins—one each for music,
clips, and sequences.

In Final Cut Express, there are often several ways to perform the same task or access the same function. For example, you
can create a bin in three different ways. You can choose a menu option, use a keyboard shortcut, or Ctrl-click to select an
option from a contextual menu. You will create a bin using each approach. For this exercise, make sure your Browser is set
to View as List rather than as icons, although you can also create and name bins in other views as well.

To delete Bin 1, the empty bin that was already in the project, click it once to select it and press Delete.

Putting Clips in Bins

Now that you've created your bins, it's time to move individual clips to their appropriate locations. Just as there are different
ways to create new bins, there are different ways to select and move project elements.

Drag the surfing jimbo.aif speaker icon to the Music bin folder icon. When the folder becomes highlighted, let go.

TIP

Whenever dragging and dropping an item in Final Cut Express, you can drag from the item's icon or the name area. But remember,
clicking the name area twice highlights it to change it.

Drag the surfing dan.aif and working out.aif music tracks to the Music bin icon the same way.

There are two sequence icons in the Browser. To select them both, click the Starting sequence, then Cmd-click the Finished sequence. Drag one of the selected sequence icons to the Sequence bin icon and let go.

Drag the remaining clips into the Clips bin.

TIP

You can select a group of clips by dragging a marquee around them. Create the marquee by clicking outside the clips and then
dragging across one or more clips, or click the first clip and Shift-click the last of a continuous list. All the clips between
the first and last become selected.

Viewing Bin Contents

Now that your project elements are organized, let's practice accessing and viewing them. There are several ways to do that.

Click the small disclosure triangle next to the Clips bin icon to display and view the bin's contents.

This opens the bin as a separate tab of items next to the project tab.

TIP

Opening a bin as a separate tab is a helpful way to view and access clips without creating a separate window.

To change the view of the Clips bin, Ctrl-click in the gray area under the first column and select View as Medium Icons from
the contextual menu.

NOTE

Each bin can be set to a different view option.

Ctrl-click the Clips tab, and choose Close Tab from the contextual menu.

This returns the Clips bin to its original configuration in the Lesson 3 Project tab area.

Save these organizational changes by pressing Cmd-S.

Viewing Columns and Layouts

When the View as List option is selected, there are more than 40 columns of information in the Browser window. These columns
reflect two types of information. First, Final Cut Express knows certain information about each clip or item, such as the
number of audio tracks and the frame size, and automatically displays that information. Second, someone may have entered information
about the clip, such as a log note or a scene or take number. You will work more with these columns in a later lesson.